JP4433199B2 - Anti-theft device for work equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an anti-theft device for a work machine that requests input of a password and enables the work machine to operate when the input password matches a password set in advance in the work machine.

  In recent years, various measures have been taken to prevent theft of a working machine such as a hydraulic excavator. As a general rule, the engine of the work implement is requested only when the password (password) is requested before starting the work implement and the entered password matches the password set in the work implement in advance. The lock state is released and the engine is started. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a third party other than the right holder who can know the regular password from using the work machine.

As an example, when the starter switch of the work implement is operated to the ON position, a screen for entering the password is displayed on the monitor provided in the operator's cab, and the lock is entered when a valid password is entered. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-228707 discloses a lock signal that is released by outputting a release signal.
JP 2002-222167 A

  By the way, the monitor used when inputting the password is generally provided in the cab. The monitor provided in the driver's cab is not only used for inputting a password but also used for displaying information on the state of the work implement. The information on the state of the work machine is mainly information on the instruments that constitute the water temperature gauge and the fuel gauge. These instruments are not provided as independent instruments, but can be improved in the occupancy of the cab by displaying them collectively on the monitor.

  For this reason, the medium for inputting the password and the medium for displaying the instrument are displayed on the monitor as a unit. Therefore, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, when the starter switch of the work machine is set to the on position, the monitor is activated and the password input screen is activated. When a valid password is input, the instrument information is displayed. In other words, this means that instrument information is not displayed unless a valid password is entered. In other words, the password entry screen for preventing theft of work implements that should originally perform separate functions and the instrument information unrelated to the prevention of theft of work implements are collectively displayed on the monitor. These two functions operate at the same timing.

  Here, when a problem is generated in the work machine when the password is input and the information on the vehicle body of the work machine is confirmed, it is necessary to solve the problem. For example, refueling is performed when the remaining amount of fuel is insufficient. However, when refueling is performed, the starter key is once returned to the off position and the work machine is turned off, and then refueling is performed. . Then, after refueling, the work machine is operated by operating the starter key to the ON position again. At this time, in order to start the engine of the work machine, the password must be input again. Therefore, the password is repeatedly input, and there is a problem that the operation becomes complicated. In other words, the second password entry is an operation necessary for operating the work implement, but the first password entry is essentially unnecessary if the work implement status can be confirmed. It is an operation. For this reason, an unnecessary input operation is forced on the operator.

  In addition to fuel shortages, there may be other problems such as engine overheating and abnormal hydraulic oil temperature. There is also a request to check the status. For example, when a rental agent that collectively manages a plurality of work machines lends a work machine, it is checked in advance whether or not the work machine has a defect, and the work machine is rented in a state where all the troubles are resolved. At this time, it is only the state of the work machine that needs to be confirmed, and it is not necessary to operate the engine of the work machine. Therefore, as in Patent Document 1, in order to confirm the state of the work machine, it is a burden on the administrator to enter the password for unlocking the engine in all work machines managed by the rental agent. Become.

  The essential purpose of the anti-theft device provided to prevent the work machine from being stolen is to prevent an unauthorized third party from stealing the work machine with the work machine in an operating state. For this reason, even if an unauthorized third party can confirm information on the work machine, there is no particular problem as long as it is possible to prevent the work machine from being put into operation. On the other hand, the configuration in which information on the work machine is not displayed unless a valid password is input as the anti-theft function is prioritized as in Patent Document 1 causes the above-described problems.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a work machine antitheft device that does not require a password input operation when confirming information on the work machine without impairing the antitheft function.

The anti-theft device for a work machine according to the present invention requests an input of a password and controls the anti-theft control means to control the work machine to be in an operating state when the input password matches a preset password. The working machine has an anti-theft device, and the working machine is in a disconnected state in which all operations of the working machine are disabled, and the engine of the working machine is not unlocked, and the working machine is in a cab of the working machine. The key switch provided in the working machine has three states, a power-on state in which the power of the display device provided is turned on and an engine starting state in which the engine is unlocked. Requesting the input of the password and the power-on position where the power is turned on, and the input password matches the set password The key switch is displaced in the order of the disconnection position, the power-on position, and the engine start position, and the antitheft control means includes the display device. Display switching means for switching the screen displayed on the screen to a password input screen for inputting the password and a status information screen for displaying the status of the work implement. The display switching means includes: The state information screen is displayed on the display device when the power switch is displaced from the cut position, and the password input screen is displayed when the key switch is displaced from the power switch position to the engine start position. It is characterized by that .

  The anti-theft device for a working machine according to the present invention can confirm information on the working machine without inputting a password, and the operation is simplified.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described. The working machine to which the present invention is applied is a construction machine represented mainly by a hydraulic excavator. Therefore, the following working machine demonstrates the case where a hydraulic excavator is applied. Of course, the present invention can also be applied to working machines other than hydraulic excavators.

  The working machine (hydraulic excavator) is generally composed of a crawler-type lower turning body, an upper turning body, and a front working machine having excavation work means and the like. The upper swing body is provided with a cab, and an operator operates a boom, an arm, a bucket, and the like constituting the front work machine by using operation means such as a lever provided in the cab. A monitor 1 is provided in the cab to let the operator know information about the state of the work implement. The operator can grasp the operating state of the work implement by visually checking the monitor 1.

  Various kinds of information can be displayed on the monitor 1, but basically the instrument of the work machine is displayed. In FIG. 1, an engine water temperature meter (water temperature meter) 3 and a fuel remaining amount meter (fuel amount meter) 4 are displayed large on the left and right. In addition, although the meter of a working machine can also be displayed, since the water temperature gauge and the fuel gauge greatly affect the operation of the working machine, they are displayed greatly on the display unit 2. In addition to the water temperature gauge 3 and the fuel gauge 4, it is also possible to display further information on the display unit 2. As an example, FIG. 1 shows an example in which an hour meter 6 indicating the operation time of the work machine is displayed.

  In FIG. 1, an icon 101 is displayed to let an operator know an abnormality when any abnormality occurs in the work machine. Each part of the work machine is provided with various sensors for detecting an abnormality. When various sensors detect an abnormality, a signal to that effect is output to the monitor 1, and the monitor 1 displays an icon corresponding to the type of abnormality in an icon display area 10 that is a band-shaped area formed below the display unit 2. Is displayed inside. An icon 101 in FIG. 1 is an icon indicating engine overheating. By visually recognizing the icon 101, the operator can quickly and intuitively grasp that the engine is overheated.

  In the present embodiment, information including the above information is defined as information (state information) regarding the state of the work implement. Of course, the status information may include other information, or may not include all of the information shown in FIG. In short, any information that displays information on the state of the work implement may be used. However, it is preferable to have information (not only icons as shown in FIG. 1 but also other types of information display) for notifying abnormality that has occurred in the water temperature gauge, fuel gauge, and work machine as status information. . Although the status information is basically displayed on the display unit 2 of the monitor 1, for example, it may be displayed by switching to a video from a back monitor for monitoring the rear of the work machine.

  The engine serving as the power source for the work machine is locked when the work machine is not in operation. In order to start the engine, it is necessary to output a lock release signal for releasing the lock state of the engine to the engine to release the lock of the engine. When the engine is stopped from the operating state, the engine is locked, and the engine is not started unless a lock release signal is output to the engine again. In addition, the work machine includes a battery that supplies power to the electrical components included in each unit. The monitor 1 is also one of electrical components. The battery is not locked like the engine, and power is supplied to each part of the work implement as soon as the battery is activated. Therefore, when the battery is activated, the monitor 1 is turned on.

  Inside the cab, a key switch 20 is provided in addition to the monitor 1, and the key switch 20 is in a cut position (OFF in the figure), a power-on position (ON in the figure), and an engine start position (in the figure). Then, it is displaced by rotating to three positions (START). When the key switch 20 is located at the cutting position, all the operations of the work machine are in a cutting state that is impossible. In the disconnected state, the engine is not unlocked, so the engine will not start. Further, since the battery is not driven, power is not supplied to the monitor 1 and the monitor 1 does not operate.

  When the key switch 20 is located at the power-on position, the working machine engine is not unlocked, but the working machine battery is driven. Therefore, the monitor 1 operates, but the engine does not start. In this embodiment, this state is defined as a power-on state. When the key switch 20 is displaced to the engine start position, input of a password is requested. When a valid password is entered, the engine is unlocked and the engine is started. In this embodiment, this state is defined as an engine start state.

  Here, the key switch 20 is displaced from the cutting position to the power-on position, and then is displaced from the power-on position to the engine start position. The key switch 20 is displaced in its position by rotation. However, the key switch 20 is not directly displaced from the cutting position to the engine starting position. When the key switch 20 is displaced from the cutting position to the engine starting position, the key switch 20 always passes the power-on position. . That is, the key switch 20 is displaced in the order of the cutting position, the power-on position, and the engine starting position when the engine is started, and is displaced in the order of the engine starting position, the power-on position, and the cutting position when the engine is stopped. .

  The antitheft control unit 30 shown in FIG. 2 is a control unit for performing antitheft control of the work machine. The anti-theft control unit 30 includes a key switch position determination unit 31, a password storage unit 32, a password determination unit 33, a display switching unit 34, a release signal output unit 35, a time measurement unit 36, and an alarm output unit 37. Has been. The key switch position determination unit 31 is connected to the key switch 20 provided in the work machine, the display switching unit 34 is the display unit 2 of the monitor 1, and the password determination unit 33 is a component of the switch unit SW of the monitor 1. It is connected to the switch (10 switches shown in FIG. 2).

  The key switch position determination unit 31 is a determination unit that is connected to the key switch 20 and determines whether the key switch 20 is in the cut position, the power-on position, or the engine start position. The password storage unit 32 is a storage unit for storing a preset valid password (set password). The password determination unit 33 is connected to the switch unit SW of the monitor 1 and compares the password input by the switch unit SW with the set password stored in the password storage unit 32 and only when they match. A signal to that effect is output to the cancellation signal output unit 35. And when it does not correspond, the alarm output part 37 outputs a signal to sound the alarm, and the alarm output part 37 performs control to sound the alarm device 50.

  Here, although it is not an unauthorized user, it is possible to simply make a mistake in inputting a password. In this case, the alarm 50 is not sounded by the first password entry mistake, but the password entry is permitted again, and the alarm 50 is activated when the password is entered more than a certain number of times. May be taken.

  The display switching unit 34 performs switching control of the screen displayed on the display unit 2 of the monitor 1. Various types of information can be displayed on the monitor 1, but a screen for displaying the status information of the work implement (screen shown in FIG. 1: status information screen) and a screen for entering a password (screen shown in FIG. 3) : Password input screen) and two types of screen switching control. The release signal output unit 35 outputs a lock release signal for releasing the lock state to the engine when receiving a signal indicating that the password input from the password determination unit 33 matches the set password. In other cases, the lock release signal is not output. Therefore, the engine lock state is released only when the key switch 20 is in the engine starting position and a valid password is input.

  The time measurement unit 36 is a timer that measures time, and is connected to the key switch position determination unit 31, the password determination unit 33, the display switching unit 34, and the alarm output unit 37. The time measuring unit 36 starts counting time when the key switch position determining unit 31 is displaced from the power-on position to the engine starting position. The time measured by the time measuring unit 36 is a time allowed for inputting the password. In order to control the password input time to be performed within the time limit, the time measuring unit 36 holds a preset time limit (input time limit), and the time that is measured by itself and the input limit that is held. Compare time. Then, when the input limit time set by the time measuring unit 36 exceeds the set time limit, the display switching unit 34 is controlled to change the display of the display unit 2 of the monitor 1 from the password input screen to the state information screen. . At this time, when the input time limit is exceeded, the alarm output unit 37 may be controlled to cause the alarm device 50 to sound.

  When a valid password is input within the input time limit, the password determination unit 33 outputs a signal to that effect to the time measurement unit 36, and the time measurement unit 36 clears the measured time (counts are counted). Return to “0”).

  In addition, the time measuring unit 36 further measures time from when a signal indicating transition of the screen is output to the display switching unit 34. The time measured at this time is a time (display permission time) during which the display of the status information screen is permitted on the monitor 1 in a state where the password is not input. The display permission time is also set in advance, and when the display permission time set by the time measurement unit 36 exceeds the set display permission time, the alarm output unit 37 is controlled to sound the alarm device 50.

  The operation of the present invention employing the above configuration will be described. Initially, when the key switch 20 is in the cutting position (OFF position in FIG. 2), the engine lock state of the work implement is not released and the battery is not driven. When the key switch 20 is displaced to the power-on position (ON position in FIG. 2), the battery is driven to enter the power-on state in which the monitor 1 is powered on. However, as described above, the engine is not unlocked in this state.

  When the monitor 1 is turned on, a status information screen is displayed on the display unit 2. At this time, the key switch position determination unit 31 knows that the key switch 20 is located at the power-on position. Therefore, at this time, a command for switching the display to the password input screen is not output to the display switching unit 34. Therefore, it is not necessary to input a password for unlocking the engine.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the state information of the working machine is information on the water temperature gauge and the fuel gauge. Therefore, it is possible to confirm whether or not the engine is overheated and whether or not the remaining amount of fuel is insufficient without inputting a password.

  As described above, on the status information screen, an icon indicating whether an abnormality has occurred in the work implement is displayed at the bottom of the screen. The icon is an icon for notifying that an abnormality has occurred. By checking the icon display, the operator can easily grasp at a glance that an abnormality has occurred in the work implement. . In FIG. 1, an icon 101 indicating that overheating has occurred in the engine is displayed. In general, it is possible to confirm whether or not an overheated state is obtained by visually checking the water temperature gauge. However, even when the coolant temperature of the engine is high, there is a case where the engine is overheated and a case where the engine is not overheated (for example, a state just before overheating). May not be possible. For this reason, if the icon 101 indicating overheating is displayed, it can be easily understood that the overheating occurs.

  In addition, although it is not displayed as a meter, when an abnormality occurs in any of the work machines, for example, when the temperature of the hydraulic oil is abnormal or when the filter is clogged . Since each part of the work machine is provided with various sensors, when an abnormality is detected, the various sensors output a signal indicating that an abnormality has occurred on the monitor 1. The monitor 1 displays an icon indicating an abnormality in the icon display area 10 in accordance with the output signal, and notifies the operator that an abnormality has occurred.

  Therefore, when the key switch 20 is displaced from the cutting position to the power-on position, it is possible to check the status information of the work implement without requiring a password for starting the engine. At this time, since the locked state of the engine has not yet been released, even if the state information is displayed without entering the password, the anti-theft function of the work machine is not impaired.

  Next, when the key switch 20 is displaced from the power-on position to the engine start position (START position in FIG. 2), the key switch position determination unit 31 displays a signal that the key switch position has been displaced to the engine start position. Output to the switching unit 34. When the display switching unit 34 receives this signal, the display switching unit 34 performs switching control from the status information screen displayed on the display unit 2 of the monitor 1 to the password input screen. At this time, a signal to start measuring time is output to the time measuring unit 36 at the same time.

  The operator inputs the password by operating the switch unit SW according to the password input screen displayed on the display unit 2. The password determination unit 33 determines whether or not the password stored in the password storage unit 32 matches the password input by the switch unit SW. Only when it is determined that they match, the release signal output unit 35 is controlled to output a lock release signal for releasing the locked state of the engine. At this time, if the password is input within the input time limit, it is not necessary to measure the time, so the password determination unit 33 issues a command to the time measurement unit 36. Then, the time measuring unit 36 stops measuring time and clears the count.

  On the other hand, when the password is not input within the input time limit, switching control from the password input screen to the status display screen is performed. For this reason, the time measuring unit 36 issues a command to the display switching unit 34 when the time when the count is started with the transition to the password input screen as a trigger exceeds the input time limit. The display switching unit 34 makes a transition from the password input screen to the state display screen according to the command.

  By the way, as described above, in order to prevent the working machine from being stolen, there is no particular problem even if the working machine status information is displayed unless the engine is unlocked. However, even if there is no particular problem, it is not preferable for an unauthorized third party to check the status information of the work machine without restriction. Therefore, after the transition from the password input screen to the status display screen, the status display is displayed only until a certain time (display permission time) elapses from that point. For this reason, the time measuring unit 36 measures the time elapsed after the transition to the state display screen, and when this time exceeds the display permission time, the alarm output unit 37 is controlled to cause the alarm device 50 to ring. .

  As described above, by moving the position of the key switch to the cutting position, the power-on position, and the engine starting position, the state of the work implement changes to the cutting state, the power-on state, and the engine starting state. When the state of the work implement is displaced from the cutting position to the power-on position, a password for unlocking the engine is not required, and the work implement state information is displayed on the monitor. Therefore, the operation information is simplified because it is possible to check the status information of the work implement on the monitor without requiring an operation of inputting a password for unlocking the engine. At this time, since the engine is not unlocked, the anti-theft function is not impaired.

  In the above-described embodiment, the condition for unlocking the engine has been described as an example of the condition for bringing the work machine into an operating state. Of course, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can also be applied to a machine that puts the work machine into an operating state by another method. However, even if the work machine is not put into operation without being unlocked, the work machine must be put into operation after at least a password is entered. In short, the present invention can be applied to any device as long as the status information of the work implement is displayed before the password input for putting the work implement into an operating state.

It is a schematic block diagram of the monitor with which the status information screen was displayed. It is a schematic block diagram of a theft prevention control part. It is a schematic block diagram of the monitor with which the password input screen was displayed.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Monitor 2 Display part 20 Key switch 30 Antitheft control part 31 Key switch position determination part 32 Password memory | storage part 33 Password determination part 34 Display switching part 35 Release signal output part 36 Time measurement part 37 Alarm output part 50 Alarm switch SW

Claims (4)

An anti-theft device for a work machine having anti-theft control means for requesting input of a password and controlling the work machine to be in an operating state when the input password matches a preset password. ,
The working machine is in a disconnected state in which all operations of the working machine are impossible, and the power of the display device provided in the operator's cab of the working machine is turned on without unlocking the engine of the working machine There are three states: a charged state and an engine start state in which the engine is unlocked,
The key switch provided in the working machine requests the input of the cutting position to put the working machine in the cut-off state, the power-on position to put the power-on state, and the password. Displaced to the engine start position to unlock the engine when it matches the set password,
The key switch is displaced in the order of the cutting position, the power-on position, and the engine starting position,
The anti-theft control means has a display switching means for switching the screen displayed on the display device to a password input screen for inputting the password and a status information screen for displaying the status of the work implement,
The display switching means displays the status information screen on the display device when the key switch is displaced from the cut position to the power-on position, and the key switch is displaced from the power-on position to the engine start position. An anti-theft device for a working machine , wherein the password entry screen is displayed when the password is entered . The antitheft device according to claim 1, wherein the information displayed on the status information screen includes a water temperature gauge, a fuel gauge, and abnormality information indicating an abnormality that has occurred in the working machine. The anti-theft control means further comprises a time measuring means,
Said display switching means, when the key switch is displaced to the engine start position from the power-on position, shifts the screen displayed on the display device from the status information screen on the password input screen, the time When the measurement means detects said that the password was not entered on transition to the predetermined time to the password input screen, to cause transition screens to be displayed on the display device from the password input screen on the status information screen The antitheft device for a working machine according to claim 1 . The anti-theft control means further comprises an alarm output means,
After the transition from the password input screen to the status information screen, when the time measurement means detects that the display of the status information screen on the display device exceeds a certain time, the alarm output means 4. The work machine antitheft device according to claim 3 , wherein the alarm device is controlled to sound a sound .

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